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DateMon, 22 Jun 1998 15:41:11 +0200
FromErik Corry <>
SubjectRe: Y2K

In article <Pine.LNX.3.95.980622082303.1910B-100000@chaos.analogic.com> you wrote:
> On Sat, 20 Jun 1998, Rogier Wolff wrote:
>> The gregorian calendar will be off-by-a-day after about 51395 years.
>> This does not take any "slowing" effects into account.

> Isn't this the reason for the "leap-second" thrown in every so often
> by the regulatory authorities (NIST in the USA)? I understand that
> the number of days in a year has been adjusted by convention, to be
> some number that is exactly represented. The result is adjusted to
> be, on the average, correct by use of the leap-second.

There's a mistake in there somewhere. The leap second adjusts for
variations in the length of a day (ie the time it takes for the earth
to spin around its own axis). It cannot adjust for the length
of a year (ie the time it takes (in days!) to orbit the sun once).

--
Erik Corry

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